Greek Friend
by PowerOfPens
Summary: Paul can't help but worry for his students. He just wants to help, however he can.


My stepson is the child of an ancient deity. Alright, I can live with that. That's alright.

The poodle is a massive hellhound called Mrs. O'Leary. Sure.

That punk girl that comes to visit us is functionally immortal. Of course.

The goth kid that keeps climbing in through the window is a teleporting 70-year-old. Why not?

It occurred to me, one day as I drove home from school, how much I trusted Percy and Sally. Why had I believed them at all? Sure, I loved Sally, but most people would still assume they were either insane or part of a cult. Maybe it was Percy's eyes, the way they seemed to lock onto me. Those eyes held power. Guarded power. The kind that knew exactly how dangerous that power would be if unleased.

Then it hit me, like a falling anvil. Last summer, at Percy's party, he had told me he had lost a few friends. At the time I assumed he meant that they had deserted the friendship or something. Now I realized, he meant they had died.

I parked the Prius and sat for a minute, trying not to throw up. These were kids, Percy's age, that were dead. Maybe some of them had been my students. I got out of the car, and stared at the sky.

"uh… Hi. I've never done this before." I could feel the odd stares I was getting, but I kept talking.

"I'm not sure who to ask, but, well, I want to help. Will one of you please show me how? Thanks."

Feeling kind of silly, I quickly entered our apartment. To my surprise, the doorman was a very different man than usual, Mediterranean complexion with a dark beard, unruly hair and stunning sea green eyes, instead of his ordinary blond hair and baby blue eyes.

I stared at him. Now, who did he remind me of?

"Are you lost, Mr. Blowfish?"

As if coming out of a trance I responded with:

"It's Mr. Blofis, actually."

"Know that guidance is always given to those who ask for it."

Then, well I thought he left through the back entrance, but I must have been too lost in thought to notice. Taking the elevator to my floor, I tried to push the thoughts of teenagers dying horribly out of my head.

The next day, when I entered my class, the school's principle was waiting for me. Along with another man, this one in a wheelchair.

"Paul, this is Mr. Brunner. He will be replacing the Latin teacher next term, and I was hoping you could discus the program with him, since you used to teach it."

"Of course, I would, sir, but shouldn't the current-"

"See, Brunner. This is what I meant. Paul's a good man, but he never trusts his own abilities. I'll leave you two to get chatting."

He patted my shoulder and walked out. After an awkward silence that lasted a few seconds, I stepped over to my desk.

"Well, it's not much, but I still have a few of my old notes on the Latin curriculum. They might be a little outdated, but I'm sure you would prefer it to starting the course from scratch. They're somewhere here I'm sure."

"That's not necessary, Mr. Blofis."

I looked up at the other teacher. His voice had startled me. I'm not sure why. It wasn't exactly familiar, but somehow, I knew it. It made me want to do everything he said. Not that he was controlling me. More that he raised a feeling that I hadn't experienced in a long time. I couldn't put my finger on it. His eyes sparkled brightly, as if he found my expression amusing.

"It's not?"

"You asked for guidance, did you not?"

I was scared, I won't deny that. But something in me said that he could be trusted. Like with Percy and Sally, this man could be clinically insane. But I trusted.

"Are… you a god? Or… What are you?"

I knew better that to say who. This man wasn't human.

He wheeled his chair over to some pictures of Greek heroes I had put on the wall. I had them all lined up on the wall with their names underneath. Theseus, Heracles, Odysseus, Jason, Atalante, Dedalus and Perseus. But hanging over my desk was a picture of Percy and his girlfriend Annabeth surrounded by their friends, Tyson, Rachelle, Nico, Thalia, Grover and Mrs. O'Leary. To my students, it was a harmless photo of my stepson and his friends. To me, it was very much in line with the others.

Mr. Brunner laughed when he saw it.

"Worthy inclusions."

He pointed to the background of one of the paintings, at a centaur drawing a bow.

"This is what I am, child."

The name came back to me.

"Chiron, immortal trainer of heroes." I said.

His nod of confirmation filled me with a strange joy.

"I am the closest thing there is to a god of teachers. You asked for a chance to help your students. They are my students as well, child. I will show you how to help."

"Thank you."

Chiron smiled at me and warmth flowed through me.

"Can you summon Fred Eastwood here?"

The question surprised me. Fred was a nervous little shrimp of a first-year student. At twelve he walked with a cane because he was diagnosed with a muscular disorder. He had this high reedy laugh when he was nervous, which was most of the time and was stanch environmentalist. The last essay he had submitted had been well written, if entirely incorrect. The poor boy seemed to think that oak wood was eatable.

Regardless I walked up to the intercom in the wall and paged the office.

"Hello, can you please send Fred Eastwood to my classroom?"

"Sure thing Paul. Just a minute."

Chiron and I waited in silence till the young boy showed up.

"Chi- I mean Mr. Brunner!"

"No need for that, child. Mr. Blofis here is reliable."

Hearing Chiron say that felt like the most validating experience of my life.

"Oh. Am I in trouble?" Fred asked.

"Nothing like that." Chiron said glancing at me, "I simply wanted to see if Mr. Blofis could put the pieces together."

Somehow, I knew that the look he would give me if I failed would be crushing. I thought back to when Percy had first shared his adventures with me. His friend Grover…

"I assume oak wood is eatable to goats."

Chiron grinned; I knew I had struck the mark.

Rummaging around my desk, I pulled his corrected essay from the pile.

"Well written, Mr. Eastwood, but wrong. This is barely a passing grade." I put on my best disapproving face. "But given the fact that you're a satyr, I'll let you rewrite it, assuming you do proper research of the human digestive system."

"Thank you, Mr. Blofis. Chiron, I'll be back at camp for the summer. I think Leila and Markus are ready."

"Very well child."

Fred waved good bye and took off down the hallway at an impossible speed, holding his cane in his hand.

"Every demigod has endured suffering. Many are diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD." Chiron said.

"So, I can arrange "Get to know you" sessions with first year students. Maybe… Oh!" I jumped up and ran to the board. I stopped just short realizing I had no idea what to write.

"Chiron, how would you write 'If you can read this, you'll get extra credit' in ancient Greek?"

He told me and I wrote it.

"That should help me identify demigods. What about monsters though? What should I do if they attack my students?"

"The best thing to do is alert Fred. Or, an older demigod. Percy and Annabeth still go to school here. They wouldn't mind helping, I'm sure."

"But…" I cut myself off. Chiron had show me so much trust. I didn't want to break it by pushing.

"Go on, child." The way he called me child, as if I was part of his tribe, made me feel safe.

"If I can't see the monsters, how will I know to alert someone?"

Chiron pulled a box out of a pouch on his wheelchair. It was a beautiful carved wooden box, and if felt important.

As I opened it, my sense of awe was crushed.

"Brownies, soda and a cheesy pin?"

Chiron laughed.

"The Mist is at work, mortal child. Those brownies are ambrosia and the sodas are nectar."

"The food and drink of the gods." I remembered. "What about this?"

I pulled out the pin. Simple, round, white background with the words 'It's all Greek to me!'.

"To anyone who can see through the Mist, the pin reads 'Greek friend'. Bring it up to your eye."

I did as he told me. As the pin touched the skin around my eye, the metal surface became see through.

"Whoa!" I reeled, dropping the pin.

"Again, child." Chiron shifted in his seat.

I put the pin to my eye again. Chiron then surged out of his chair, and I saw him for who he really was. A centaur. But taking the pin away from my eye, I saw just a normal man, standing up beside the wheelchair.

"Looking though this pin will allow you to see things exactly like a demigod would."

The bell rang, so familiar that it was alien.

"Well, that would be my cue to leave." Chiron sat back down in the wheelchair.

I brought the pin to my eye and watched as he balanced the empty chair unto his back. The he ran away, quick as wind.

I must have stood there in a stupor for a few minutes. Then I heard a girl's voice.

"Mr. Blofis? Are you alright, sir?" Leila walked into the class. Her storm grey eyes were filled with concern.

"Yes, I quite alright. Come take your seats for class."

Leila, Markus and Fred came in. Markus seemed to prefer the seats in back but Leila urged them to sit in the front. She won. Fred sat with them, smiling and laughing at their banter.

I turned to write the day's lesson on the board.

"I don't see why we have to get to class so early." Markus told Leila.

"Better safe than sorry, right? Besides, now we get to sit together."

"I hate trying to argue with you. You're impossible."

"I love you too, sunshine."

Other students filled the room and I couldn't hear them anymore.

Sometime during class, after Leila, Markus and Fred claimed their extra credit, I noticed Markus shooting spit wads at the ceiling. He tapped Leila's shoulder and pointed to his work.

"Spit wads in the shape of an owl? Really?"

"Just for you, Smarty."

"You are incorrigible."

"Love you too."

"Why an owl?"

"I don't know, it just felt right."

I grinned and my eye caught Fred's.

He grinned too.

"Athena and Apollo." He mothed.

I sat back at my desk. I would keep the owl.

Athena was the goddess of knowledge. Not a bad symbol for a classroom.

I muttered under my breath.

"Two of my students are descendants of ancient deities with cosmic powers. Certainly, why not?"

I might have been hallucinating.

But the owl winked at me.


End file.
